VLOOKUP stands for vertical lookup and we can use to scan a column and get matching data. In this article, learn how to use VLOOKUP with 10 practical examples. You also get a free sample workbook to practice VLOOKUP.
Table of Contents
What is VLOOKUP?
VLOOKUP stands for Vertical Lookup. We can use it scan your data to find a matching value.
You can use the below syntax to write VLOOKUP.
'SYNTAX
=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number, approximate_match_ok?)
- Search_value: this is the first parameter or option for VLOOKUP. You can specify the lookup value here. It can be a typed-in value or reference to a cell value.
- In_this_data: This is where your data is. It can be on the same worksheet or in another tab. It can be a range of values (like B5:E17) or a table (like tblSales).
- return_column_number: This number tells VLOOKUP which column to extract after the result is found. Refer to below examples to better understand this.
- approximate_match_ok? This TRUE / FALSE setting tells VLOOKUP if you want an approximate or exact match for your search. In 99% of situations, I use FALSE for this, as we need EXACT matches in business situations.
VLOOKUP Explanation
Here is a simple VLOOKUP to get the sales value of Josh from my sales data in the range $B$5:$E$17. The formula returns the result of $1680.
Refer to below image to understand the concept of VLOOKUP.
'SYNTAX
=VLOOKUP(search_value, in_this_data, return_column_number, approximate_match_ok?)
'EXAMPLE
=VLOOKUP("Josh", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
1680
EXPLANATION
Vertically looks up “Josh” in column B of the range B5:E17 and returns the exact matching value from column D (3rd column from B). Refer to the above picture and syntax to understand the concept.
VLOOKUP - 5 Essential Examples
Now that you understand the concept of VLOOKUP, let’s look at 5 essential examples of this lookup function in day-to-day business settings.
Note: All these examples use the same sales dataset as above. You can grab a copy of this file from here.
Example 1 - Basic Usage of VLOOKUP
The most basic usage of VLOOKUP is to lookup a value in a table and get corresponding matching value from another column.
In this example, we want to lookup sales of “Josh” from the sales data in the range B5:E17.
'EXAMPLE 1
=VLOOKUP("Josh", $B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
1680
Example 2 - Using Input Cell for Search Value
One simple way to make your VLOOKUP formulas powerful is by using input cell to maintain the search value. This way, everytime you need to search for a different thing, you just update the search value.
'EXAMPLE 2
'Put a person's name in cell G8, such as Jagjit
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP(G8,$B$5:$E$17,4,FALSE)
'RESULT
709
Example 3 - Searching by pattern (name begins with)
Many times, we don’t know what the full value is. We just know the first few letters. For example, looking at the sales data in range B5:E17, you want to find the sales of the person whose name begins with the value in cell G5.
For example, G5 contains Jav
In this case, we are looking for the person Javed.
'EXAMPLE 3
'Type Jav in G5
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP(G5&"*",$B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
'RESULT
$2277
How this “Name begins with” VLOOKUP works?
- The formula is =VLOOKUP(G5&”*”,$B$5:$E$17,3,FALSE)
- First let’s look at the search_value option. This is G5&”*”
- As G5 is “Jav”, this becomes Jav*
- * is a special character for VLOOKUP. It means, anything after Jav.
- So VLOOKUP looks for any name that begins with Jav and finds Javed.
- The rest is easy to understand.
POP QUIZ…
- How would you find Net Sales for the person whose name ends with sh
- Write a formula for that and share your answers in the comment section.
Example 4 - Get the entire record
Let’s say you want the entire record, not just Net Sales column (3). In this case, you can use an array as the 3rd parameter for VLOOKUP. See this powerful example.
'EXAMPLE 4
'Get entire record for Johnson
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Johnson",$B$5:$E$17,{1,2,3,4},FALSE)
'RESULT
The entire row of values for Johnson
Johnson 10 $1,540 $570
Note about using this formula:
- If you have Excel 365 or using Excel on the web, the above formula works as is.
- If you are using any older version of Excel (such as Excel 2016 / 2013 / 2010), then you should do the below steps:
- Select a range of 4 cells for your result.
- Type the formula in the very first cell.
- Then instead of pressing ENTER, press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER
Example 5 - When VLOOKUP can't find the value...
Life would be just awesome if we can always find what we want. Sadly, that is not the case. So what happens when VLOOKUP can’t find the value you want to look for?
It will return an error. #N/A error.
See below example. Read on to learn how to fix the problem.
'EXAMPLE 5
'Looking for an non-existent value
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Chandoo", B5:E17,2,FALSE)
'RESULT
#N/A
How to fix the #N/A error in VLOOKUP?
We can use the IFERROR function of Excel to handle errors with our VLOOKUP FORMULAS.
For example, you can use this formula to show a message like “Person not found” for the Example 5 above.
'EXAMPLE 5 with error handling
'Looking for an non-existent value
'Formula:
=IFERROR(VLOOKUP("Chandoo", B5:E17,2,FALSE), "Person not found")
'RESULT
Person not found
How to use VLOOKUP when you have data in a table?
VLOOKUP works great with data in tables or regular ranges. I prefer using VLOOKUP with table data as tables are easier to manage business data.
Related: Learn how to create and use Excel Tables.
Here are 3 examples of using VLOOKUP with CTRL+T Tables in Excel.
'VLOOKUP TABLE EXAMPLES
'Data is in table named tblSales
'Formula:
=VLOOKUP("Josh",tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result:
$1680
'Formula
=VLOOKUP(G37,tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result
$1799
'Formula
=VLOOKUP(G41&"*",tblSales,3,FALSE)
'Result:
$2277
Learn more about tables in Excel:
- Tables are a very powerful and time-saving feature of Excel. Please refer to below articles to learn more.
- How to create and use tables in Excel
- Tables + VLOOKUP examples
VLOOKUP - Video Tutorial
Please refer to below video tutorial to understand how to use VLOOKUP.
Download VLOOKUP Examples - Workbook
Please download the sample workbook for this article and learn how to use VLOOKUP quickly.
What are the limitations of VLOOKUP?
While VLOOKUP is a game changer when it was originally introduced, when you look at the data challenges we all face in 2024, it suffers from many limitations. Here are the main downsides of using VLOOKUP.
- It can only lookup on the left-most column: VLOOKUP can only search on the data in left-most column of the table and return values to the right. So, if you want to find out the sales person’s name who has sales of $2,133, we can’t do that with VLOOKUP.
- We can use INDEX+MATCH or XLOOKUP (my preference) to solve this problem.
- Column Numbers: Let’s be real. Nobody refers to their data by column numbers. We think and memorize the data by what it is. So, if I want to lookup a name and get the corresponding sales, then I must translate the sales to column number for VLOOKUP. This is lame.
- We can use XLOOKUP to fix this problem.
- No Error handling: VLOOKUP doesn’t handle errors by itself. So if your lookup cannot find the value, it just comes back with #N/A. This often has a cascading effect on the charts, dashboards or reports you create.
- We can use either XLOOKUP or IFERROR to solve this problem.
- Approximate Trap: I can’t tell you how many times I accidentally leave the last parameter of VLOOKUP out and end up getting wrong results. This is because, if you forget to say FALSE at the end of VLOOKUP, you fall into the approximate trap. Your VLOOKUP RESULTS WILL BE WRONG.
- We can use XLOOKUP or be careful when writing VLOOKUPS.
My top 3 Alternatives for VLOOKUP
Let me be honest here. As of 2024, I no longer use VLOOKUP to solve my lookup problems in Excel. I use one of these alternatives depending on the nature of the job.
- XLOOKUP: Ever since XLOOKUP was launched a few years ago, it has become my go to lookup formula. It can do everything VLOOKUP does and adds many time-saving features.
- XLOOKUP can lookup both vertically or horizontally.
- XLOOKUP defaults to exact match all the time.
- It can lookup on any column and return another column (thus fixing the left column only limitation of VLOOKUP)
- It has built-in error handling mechanism.
- It works well with new Dynamic Array world of Excel.
- Power Query: We can use the MERGE Queries functionality of Power Query to lookup and get matching values for two tables quickly and efficiently. I mention this in my recent video here.
- Power Pivot: If you have two tables each holding one piece of a data puzzle and you want to answer business questions by combining both datasets, we can use Power Pivot’s relationship feature. This automatically connects both tables and let’s you synthesize data to answer queries. Learn how to use Power Pivot to replace VLOOKUPs.
In conclusion: Should you learn and use VLOOKUP?
As mentioned above, I no longer actively use VLOOKUP for my lookup problems. That said, it is a very useful formula and I recommend everyone to learn the basic syntax at the minimum.
- If you use Excel 365 or Excel on Web: Focus on learning XLOOKUP instead.
- If you also work in Power BI: Learn how to use Power Query and Power Pivot to replace LOOKUPS in your data.
- If you work with older versions of Excel: Then VLOOKUP is a must for you. Learn and use it well.
More information on VLOOKUP
Check out below resources and help to learn more about VLOOKUP and alternatives.
21 Responses to “Distinct count in Excel pivot tables”
The distinct count option works well but I have found that if I have a date field and want to group by year, month, etc. that option seems to be disabled. I need to do both, distinct count and group by year/month.
Example data; sales orders with item quantities with dates.
Challenge; sum the item quantities, count the distinct orders and group by month. How do I do this?
Perhaps that's not possible due to the grouping?
@Al... When you use data model based pivots, you cannot group values manually anymore. Why not use Excel 2016's default date grouping option? In this case we have just a few dates, so Excel is not grouping them, but if you have an year's worth of data, when you make the pivot with date in the row label area, Excel automatically groups them. If you have fewer dates or want to use your own grouping, just create a table with all dates, add columns with month, week, year etc. Then connect this table (these types of tables are usually called as calendar tables) to your data on date field as a relationship. Now you can create reports by month, quarter etc easily.
Is this the only way to do it in 2013? I find it rather cumbersome to have to create another data table listing dates with the another column for MONTH() and YEAR() to be able to summarise data for senior level...
I know people find adding calendar tables cumbersome, but it is a best practice and let's you add more layers of analysis quite easily. For example, adding analysis by weekday vs. weekend or by financial quarter or YTD calculations (you would need either Power Pivot DAX or some very carefully setup pivot table value field settings)
I had absolutely no idea this was possible. Very useful, nice work!
Doesn't work for 2010 version though (or at least not my works version)
Hi ,
The post has the following in it :
These instructions work only in Excel 2016, Office 365 and Excel 2013.
when i have 2 different Pivot tables, one without the enabled “Add this data to data model” option, and the other one with it enabled.. is there anyway i can link slicers between them?
if the answer is NO,, what to do ?
Quick note, the “Add this data to data model” option is not available for the Mac version.
perhaps outside scope of this article but I have found when I attempt to create a pivot table from an external data source (connection to a sql view) the "Add this data to data model" becomes greyed out. Anybody experienced and found a solution so I can start getting distinct count in my pivot tables?
Is there a way to still add a calculated field when using distinct count?
I found I can't change the date source after tick the " add this data to the data model", can you help to adv how to change the date source in such case?
Is there a way to update the source once you have added to the data model? I receive a new spreadsheet weekly and would like to update the connection so my tables pull from the new source.
Hi Crhis, I like how you have hulk (superhero) as your avatar. Do you know that there is a superhero in Excel too? It's Power Query. You can use it to solve your problem in a simple click. Here an intro if you need some guidance.
Powerful Introduction to Power Query
A big Thank you. It worked.
Hi, have survey data that I need to analyze but the challenge is that my key fields are showing horizontally. I tried to transpose the fields using Power Query, but unfortunately the new fields are returning same values on a pivot table despite using distinct values
How I can a do a pivot table with discount conts in some columns and then generate shor report filter pages. pls it drives crazy
Hi. Why grand total pivot of distinct count is 13? shouldn't it be 67?
Great Answer! Saved me lots of time!
Thank you!!!
Worked awesome! Thanks!!
Hi Chandoo,
I am using pivot tables for distinct count and now I need to update them with new set of data. But when I update the source data, all the columns and formatting of Pivot table disappears and I need to build it from Scratch.
Is there a possibility that I can update the source data with new rows added and also retain my pivot tables?